Wednesday, 19 August 2009

Every Monday and Wednesday, we feature four of the latest history books that have been released in hardback and paperback on the History Today Books blog.Our books blog is an interactive forum where readers add their own recommendations and comment on our selection.We are now giving our readers the opportunity to review some of the latest publications and to have their review published on the History Today Books blog.Every month, we will offer a selection of books which we will send out to readers in return for their reviews.To submit a review, please send an email to Kathryn Hadley (k.hadley@historytoday.com) specifying your choice of book. We will then send you the book with a one-month deadline to send us your review.Books will be sent on a first come first served basis.

Published to mark the 65th anniversary of the Great Escape from Stalag Luft III in 1944, a series of first-hand accounts of the greatest PoW escapes of the Second World War based on unique records held at the National Archives.

- The Book of English Magic, Philip Carr-Gomm & Richard Heygate (John Murray)

A survey of England’s little-known but rich history of magical lore and practice, which combines historical explorations and biographies of leading figures with suggestions for sites to visit and experiments to perform.

- Mavericks, Robert Harvey (Constable)

Based on twelve individual portraits, an insight into the minds and actions of military mavericks, such as Clive of India, George Washington, Horatio Nelson, and George Patton, who helped change the course of military history.

- Millennium, Tom Holland (Abacus)An account of the two centuries on either side of the year 1000, which did not herald the end of the world as was feared, but instead saw the emergence of western Europe as a distinctive and expansionist power.

- Soldiers of the Queen: Victorian Colonial Conflict in the Words of those who Fought, Stephen Manning (The History Press)

Told through the letters and diaries of those who served, this account of Queen Victoria’s colonial campaigns covers all aspects of colonial service, from the time the soldiers left their barracks to go on campaign, to the journey at sea aboard transport ships, and the conflict itself.

- Imperial Island: A History of Britain and Its Empire, 1660-1837, Paul Kleber Monod (Wiley-Blackwell)

An account of Britain’s imperial path from the Stuart Restoration of 1660 to its emergence in the 19th century as a dominant global superpower, which addresses international political events as well as England and Scotland’s political, social and economic history.